


Judgement without Jurisdiction

by Starrie_Wolf



Series: Playing with Pendulums [8]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don't copy to another site, Established Relationship, M/M, Midnight strolls of convenience, Revelations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24434950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrie_Wolf/pseuds/Starrie_Wolf
Summary: Kisuke, wherever you are right now, please be okay.
Relationships: Kurosaki Ichigo & Kyouraku Shunsui, Kurosaki Ichigo & Shihouin Yoruichi & Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Ichigo/Urahara Kisuke
Series: Playing with Pendulums [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1077834
Comments: 109
Kudos: 731
Collections: UraIchi Week 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And the climax of this entire series...

_While the Special Resolution Squad is facing off against Aizen…_

It’s the middle of the night, but Ichigo can’t sleep.

He paces through the darkened streets of Seireitei, hands shoved into his pockets, as much to have somewhere to put them as it is to keep them from the hilt of his zanpakutō. There’s a… sort of _disquiet_ in the air, like a film of haze clinging to the entire city, making the back of his neck prickle with unease.

Ichigo turns a corner too fast and nearly runs smack into Kyōraku.

He staggers back to avoid the impact, almost falling onto his butt before he manages to steady himself. There’s a shy little giggle, and Ichigo looks up to see a bespectacled little girl with a large tome under her arm staring down at him, covering her mouth with a sleeve.

“Good evening, Kyōraku-taichō,” he greets, “and this is…?”

The girl looks nervously up at Kyōraku, who smiles indulgently down at her. Ichigo is a little surprised, to be honest. He didn’t know Kyōraku can be so… there’s no other word for it, _fatherly_.

“Nanao-chan, greet Shiba-fukutaichō properly.”

Nanao gives a little bow, picture-perfect for a noble lady. “Good evening, Shiba-fukutaichō.”

Ichigo bows back equally politely. “Good night for a stroll?” he asks idly, although he doubts that is why Kyōraku is wandering the streets at night.

“Nanao-chan is having trouble sleeping,” Kyōraku explains with another indulgent smile down at her. “I’m afraid Lisa-chan missed their usual monthly reading session because of the mission, so we are taking a stroll instead.”

Nanao. Now that Ichigo thinks about it, he remembers Kyōraku has a niece in… what was it… there aren’t too many matriarchal clans around… the House of Ise? Ise, Ise, isn’t that a Shinto family in charge of rites and rituals?

The night suddenly feels a few degrees chillier than before.

A normal little girl being unable to sleep is a totally different matter from a Mistress of Rites – no matter how young or untrained – being unable to sleep.

When Ichigo looks at him again, Kyōraku still has that gentle expression on his face, but his eyes are like chips of flint.

Ichigo makes a snap decision.

“Ah, I see. Since I’m also having trouble sleeping, may I accompany you on your stroll, Nanao-chan?”

Nanao looks first to Kyōraku, who gives her an encouraging nod, and then shyly answers in the affirmative.

* * *

They must’ve circled around a quarter of Seireitei before Nanao speaks again.

“Um, Shiba-fukutaichō?” she asks softly, “which division are you from?”

Ichigo startles, but more in surprise at the realisation that he’s walking around in his own clothes instead of his uniform and lieutenant insignia. “Ah, that would be the Eleventh.”

“The Eleventh?” Nanao falters, very slightly, and Ichigo can make a guess as to why. “Is that the division that…”

“Everything you heard is probably true,” Ichigo admits sheepishly. “But! We’ve been trying to start up a small research-oriented branch in the division, to make things that can come in useful for the Gotei. Our captain, Urahara Kisuke, used to be the genius inventor of the Second Division, so he’s come up with some really amazing stuff.”

Kyōraku lifts his brows slightly, and only then does Ichigo realise the slip of his tongue. He stares back defiantly. He’s not going to take back his term of address; Kisuke deserves to be honoured as his own person, and not just a commodity of the Shiba clan – he’s so much more than just a footnote as Ichigo’s husband, even if their relative social stations will cast him as such.

Oblivious to the subtlety of clan politics, Nanao chirps up, “Really? What kinds of things does he make?”

He has to think for a while. The research laboratory is solely under Kisuke’s purview; Ichigo doesn’t track all the projects going on in there, mainly because in a fit of inspiration Kisuke can come up with a dozen projects in one night and then scrap half of them the next day. “Well, he’s been working on things that can make a shinigami’s life easier on patrol so far. A big part of the lab right now is devoted to coming up with some sort of false shell that living humans can see, to make it easier on shinigami who get sent to the Transient World for long-term patrols. He’s also working on better communication devices, better Hollow detection devices, and I think he’s been trying to develop some sort of memory-modifier that can be used on living people, to make it easier on the clean-up crew after a major Hollow attack. In fact, I’ve got something right here.” Ichigo pulls out a tiny orb, about the size of a marble, and offers it to Nanao.

“What’s this?”

“This is part of his Hollow detection project,” Ichigo explains. “The problem right now is that nobody can track Hollows when they’re not attacking someone, so a lot of shinigami get taken by surprise, or aren’t in the right place at the right time to save a Plus. He’s been working on something that can detect minute fluctuations in reiatsu, so that it can pinpoint where the Hollows and other squadmates are.”

Nanao takes the orb, looking fascinated. “And a little orb like this is able to do that?”

Ichigo laughs, scratching the back of his head. “Well, eventually, yeah! I’ve been carrying this one around to collect data for further improvements, you see. Its resolution isn’t very good right now, but it’s able to accurately detect and record the reiatsu of anyone who’s at least a seated officer, as long as they’re within about ten shunpo strides away, and it’ll light up if it senses high reiatsu usage that could suggest a Hollow attack.”

“Oh…” Nanao turns the orb over in her hands, looking slightly despondent. “Seated officer level, huh…”

“Why don’t you let Kyōraku-taichō try it?” Ichigo suggests, with a quick glance at Kyōraku. “Just flare your reiatsu a little, and it should – yeah, like that.”

The orb flashes a bright red warning. Most of the devices that this orb can connect to are not yet portable, so Ichigo can’t show them how these spikes in reiatsu will be labelled, but he thought Kisuke might be pleased to add Kyōraku’s reiatsu signature to his files.

“It’s amazing…” Nanao murmurs, reluctantly handing the orb back to Ichigo.

“It’s got a playback function as well,” Ichigo adds, offering the orb to Kyōraku. He pulls a small control device, presses a button, and they watch as Kyōraku’s brows visibly jump.

“Feels exactly like my reiatsu,” he agrees, holding the orb up for closer scrutiny.

Ichigo nods. “I’ve got no idea how it works, myself,” he confides. “I’m afraid Urahara-taichō’s explanations tend to fly over my head.”

Kyōraku laughs, returning the orb to Ichigo. “Well, I am certainly look forward to the final product now.”

Ichigo smiles, and is just about to reply when a voice sounds somewhere above them.

“Good evening, Kyōraku-taichō, Shiba-fukutaichō.”

They both pause in surprise. It’s so late that no one besides those on night duty should be awake, and the rank-and-file aren’t usually able to recognise them without their insignia of office.

“Good evening, Aizen-fukutaichō,” Ichigo says with some surprise. He doesn’t think they are anywhere near the Fifth Division, so why would Aizen be wandering the Eighth Division in the middle of the night?

“It’s a good night for a stroll,” Kyōraku comments blandly. It’s a sudden switch of character for him, and suggests an implication that has Ichigo a little concerned.

Completely missing their point, Aizen smile genially. “Yes, it is.”

Even _Nanao_ gives him a strange look at that proclamation. Anyone who is reiatsu-sensitive – which is to say, pretty much every Gotei officer – should be able to feel the ominous loom of doom hanging over the city that night. Isn’t that why Ichigo, why Kyōraku, why _Nanao_ is wandering around the city at this hour?

Kyōraku, Ichigo can understand. He’s worried about Lisa. But _Aizen_? Ichigo doesn’t know about the lieutenant of the Fifth Division, but he didn’t think Aizen was particularly close to Shinji. In fact, Shinji has made it a point to never invite his lieutenant to _Dancing Fan_ meetings, and more than once he has rather obliquely mentioned that there isn’t anyone he would trust to watch his back in his division.

Ichigo takes a few steps closer.

 _Sight-based attacks_ , he remembers Shinji and Kisuke discussing. _Can’t trust their eyes._

After a few more exchanges of meaningless pleasantries, Aizen excuses himself.

“I think… I’m going to wait at the General First Aid Station with Unohana-taichō,” Ichigo says suddenly, staring at the corner where Aizen vanished from sight. Something in the exchange has made him more jittery than usual, although he can’t figure out _what_.

“That is a good idea,” Kyōraku comments instantly. “I will walk Nanao-chan back to her house and then come to join you.”

Ichigo watches them leave.

_Kisuke, wherever you are right now, please be okay._


	2. Chapter 2

“What are you still _doing_ here?!”

Ichigo wakes up with a jerk, almost falling face-first onto the ground. He – where –

He looks around, and everything comes back in a flash. Coming with Kyōraku to the General First Aid Station in the middle of the night – Unohana telling them that no one has arrived yet – the two of them going into jinzen to pass the time by communicating with their zanpakutō spirits, ready for a fight at any moment –

Now that he’s awake, his legs begin to protest the position they have been curled into all night. Ichigo rubs gingerly at his calf, staring stupidly up at Yoruichi. “Wha –”

“ _Kisuke and Tessai are arrested for causing the Case of Vanishing Souls!_ ”

Maybe he’s still asleep. Ichigo gives himself a pinch, but it doesn’t do anything besides add to the pins and needles sensation in his calves.

“ _WHAT?_ ”

The courtyard is empty save for Kyōraku, who is now stirring, and Unohana, who has come out to see what the commotion is.

Yoruichi takes one look at her placidly lethal face and fights to modulate her voice. “Central 46 went over my head to give the order early this morning, apparently Kisuke and Tessai were found in the research lab over at the Eleventh with eight half-Hollow shinigami lying on the floor.”

Ichigo shakes his head, trying to shake off the remnant cobwebs of sleep. “What – how did they get there?” The General First Aid Station is set up next to the gate they would have passed through when they crossed back from Rukongai, and it seems impossible that Ichigo could have missed ten people coming down the street.

“I don’t know!” Yoruichi hisses. “None of my operatives saw them until they got dragged out of the Eleventh – I don’t know how they got there, I don’t know why eight of them are wearing Hollow-like masks, I don’t know what Kisuke has been doing the whole night.” She stops and takes a deep breath, fists clenching at her sides. “But I do know who set them up.”

“Who?” Ichigo demands instantly. If Central 46 sent out the warrant, they will be tried in the Central 46 compound. As a Shiba, Kisuke will be accorded some leeway in treatment, but a case as serious as this will be tried straight away.

“Lieutenant of the Fifth, Aizen Sōsuke,” Yoruichi says confidently.

“ _What_?” Ichigo shrieks. One glance at Unohana, looking slightly more murderous than usual, and he manages to control himself. “Are you sure?”

“There’s no doubt, he was the one who called it in. Says he was on a stroll around Seireitei last night and heard a commotion in the Eleventh Division’s labs. Thought he was no match for Kisuke and Tessai so he didn’t go in, but hurried to report the matter to Central 46 right away.”

Ichigo gives in to the urge to rub the bridge of his nose. “Okay…” he says slowly, mind working in overdrive. Aizen had been walking around Seireitei at an ungodly hour, yes, and he _had_ been going in the direction of the Eleventh Division, yes…

“What was Aizen doing in the Eleventh?” The research laboratory is situated at the back of the Eleventh Division; Aizen would have had to go all the way in, past the practice yards and the barracks, which doesn’t make any sense. They don’t even bother to lock the gates at night because there isn’t anything worth stealing.

Yoruichi shrugs. “He says he heard a loud noise and went in to investigate.”

“A noise loud enough to be heard from outside the front gates but not loud enough to awaken anyone in the barracks?” Ichigo repeats incredulously. He drags a hand through his hair, yanking on the strands restlessly. “Besides, eight of them – only six of them went out last night, so meaning Hiyori, and Kensei and Mashiro too? How would Kisuke have done – _anything_ – when he’s been with me this whole week?”

“I don’t know!” Yoruichi growls, looking just as frustrated as Ichigo feels.

Before they can continue in circles, an Onmitsukidō member flashes into view, dropping to one knee in front of Yoruichi and holding out a scroll. As soon as she takes it, they vanish again.

“I stationed someone at the Court Chambers to take notes,” Yoruichi explains shortly, unrolling the scroll. “Let’s see… this is from Tessai’s interrogation…”

Throwing all semblance of decorum to the wind, Ichigo crowds against her to read over her shoulder. “… overheard Shiba-taichō will be fetching items that could aid in the investigation… volunteered to act as escort until Shiba-taichō catches up with the rest of the squad since the enemy is known to be able to take down a lone captain… discovered… Lieutenant Aizen Sōsuke, Fifth Seat Tōsen Kaname and an unidentified silver-haired boy conducting Hollowfication experiments on the rest of the Special Resolution Squad?! What is ‘Hollowfication’?”

“There’s an explanation later,” Yoruichi says absently, clearly already several lines ahead.

“This occurred at around midnight,” Ichigo reads aloud, skimming down to the explanation, and then goes back to reread that line. “Wait, that can’t be right.” He looks over at Captain Kyōraku, who has not said a single word so far, his expression completely unreadable. “Kyōraku-taichō, when did we run into Aizen?”

“Around half an hour past midnight,” Kyōraku answers after a pause. “When I brought Nanao-chan back to her house it was just slightly past one.”

“How can Aizen be in two places at the same time?” asks Ichigo rhetorically. Even the Goddess of Flash won’t be able to get all the way from the heart of Seireitei to the sixth district of Western Rukongai, where Tessai had reported seeing Aizen, within half an hour.

“Which means one of them isn’t Aizen.” Yoruichi looks up from the report. She purses her lips, leaving the scroll unrolled. “So now, we have two people claiming to be Lieutenant Aizen Sōsuke. One of them was loitering suspiciously in places he shouldn’t be in, while the other one was capable of dodging an assassination strike from Kisuke and blocking Tessai’s strongest kidō with a nonverbal Dankū.”

Ichigo can only stare at her for a moment. He understands what each of those words mean individually, but when strung together they don’t make any sense. He shakes his head, reminding himself that _that_ isn’t the issue right now.

“I might be able to help with that.” He fishes the reiatsu detection orb and the remote control from his pocket. “I’ve been helping Kisuke beta-test one of his Hollow detection projects the past week,” he explains shortly, “and I was carrying this last night. If we ran into Aizen, his reiatsu will be on this.”

He flicks the remote control. The latest one to be recorded is an unfamiliar signature, probably that of the Onmitsukidō officer. Before that was Yoruichi’s, and then Unohana’s – familiar after the years of close cooperation between the Fourth and the Eleventh – and then another unfamiliar one, and then what should be Kyōraku’s…

“Kyōraku-taichō, can you confirm this is your reiatsu signature?”

Kyōraku takes the orb, and then hands it back almost immediately. “Yes.”

Ichigo flips the recording forwards by one. “So this should be Aizen’s.” He hesitates. “But I don’t know anyone who’s familiar enough with Aizen’s reiatsu to tell whether this is his…” They don’t have it on record either, he thinks.

“May I take a look?”

Ichigo startles, looking at Unohana in surprise. He hasn’t expected _her_ – oh, of course, every Gotei officer is required to undergo regular health examinations, not to mention healing sessions with her should they be injured, so of course Unohana would be familiar with their reiatsu – “Is this Aizen’s reiatsu?”

Unohana cups the orb in her hands thoughtfully, her expression as serene as ever, although Ichigo thinks he can see a frisson of disquiet in her gaze.

“Yes, and no.”

Ichigo just barely bites back the _what is THAT supposed to mean_ when she hands the orb back to him and explains, “There are two reiatsu signatures. One of them is at a level expected of a seated officer, but not that of a lieutenant. It does not belong to Aizen-fukutaichō. The one that belongs to Aizen-fukutaichō is at a level that would be suggestive of shikai.”

Ichigo stares at Kyōraku, who looks back just as blankly. “… no, I definitely would have noticed if the Aizen we saw last night was throwing water around.”

Which means… what? That Aizen’s shikai isn’t water-based, like he claimed it was?

 _Something sight-based_ , Kisuke had suggested. If Aizen’s shikai could make someone else look like and even sound like him, then…

“We need to get to Central 46. Kisuke should be carrying another of these orbs – if you can identify Aizen’s reiatsu, Unohana-taichō –”

Unohana inclines her head, as regal as a queen. “I will come.”

All four of them vanish in flashes of shunpo.

* * *

They arrive in the middle of what sounds like controlled _chaos_.

“Silence!” one of the masked members of Central 46 shouts, loud enough that they can hear him outside the chamber. “You will not speak unless spoken to, Captain Shiba Kisuke!”

“We were trying to save Hirako-taichō and the rest!” Ichigo hears Kisuke retort loudly, his tone uncharacteristically sharp. He’s never heard Kisuke sound like that before, not even when several division members broke his instruments and set his experiments back by _months_.

“Yours lies are so outlandish that they’re almost funny,” drawls another Central 46 member. “The Lieutenant of the Fifth Division never left Seireitei last night.”

“What?” he can just barely hear Kisuke ask faintly, over complaints from the guards outside the door.

“Halt!”

“We have 124 regular witnesses, one lieutenant, and one captain who will attest to that. Including your own husband, Shiba-taichō.”

Ichigo doesn’t wait to hear what Kisuke would have said in response to that. Ignoring the guards rushing to stop them – Yoruichi can handle all of them without breaking a sweat – he slams the doors open and shouts back, “I challenge that!”

There’s an immediate uproar in the chamber.

“Who dares interrupt –” one of the Central 46 members demands, amidst the shout for guard reinforcements.

Ichigo bites down the urge to continue shouting. “Honoured members of Central 46, I am Lieutenant Shiba Ichigo of the Eleventh Division.” His name isn’t going to buy him a lot of time, perhaps just enough for one sentence. “We have recently come into possession into evidence that Lieutenant Aizen Sōsuke has made his claims under false pretences. I challenge his claim.”

His eyes meet Kisuke’s wide and round ones in the centre of the interrogation chamber. Just like Yoruichi had said, he looks like he hasn’t slept the entire night, but there’s a blaze of near-mania in his eyes. He doesn’t look injured, and nor does Tessai beside him, which is about as much as Ichigo can hope for.

“This is a farce of a challenge,” one of the masked members scoffs instantly. “You are the husband of the accused –”

“I, Captain Kyōraku Shunsui of the Eighth Division, second the challenge,” Kyōraku interrupts, stepping up beside Ichigo.

That gives them pause, just enough for Unohana’s softer voice to be heard.

“I, Captain Unohana Retsu of the Fourth Division, add my voice to their challenge.”

“I, Captain Shihōin Yoruichi of the Second Division, also add my voice to the challenge.” Yoruichi pokes her head through the door, dusting her hands off. “Our apologies for the interruption, honoured members – we had only just discovered a piece of crucial evidence, and sought to bring it to your attention at haste.”

The masked member sitting in the centre waves a hand imperiously. “You may speak.”

“Ki – Shiba-taichō.” Ichigo pulls out the reiatsu detection orb from his pocket, watching Kisuke’s eyes widen in first surprise and then understanding. “It is my understanding that you may have been carrying such a device with you during your investigation last night.”

He almost sighs aloud in relief when Kisuke nods in reply. “Yes.” He makes to fumble in his pocket, until he remembers that his hands are cuffed in a wooden board behind his back.

“Honoured members, may I have permission to retrieve it?”

Permission obtained, Ichigo walks forward slowly, slipping his hand into the pocket Kisuke gestures at while Kyōraku explains the function of the reiatsu detection orb and agrees that he tested it the previous night. Kisuke is trembling very faintly under his touch, but Ichigo cannot do anything except pat his thigh gently under the guise of searching for the orb.

He hands the orb over to Unohana immediately, fishing the remote control device from his pocket.

“Please begin playing back the recorded reiatsu signatures, Shiba-fukutaichō,” she requests formally.

Ichigo presses the playback button once.

“Shiba-fukutaichō, Kyōraku-taichō, Shihōin-taichō and myself,” she announces without hesitation. “The moment we entered, I presume?”

At Kisuke’s nod, Ichigo clicked the button again.

“Several shinigami, I do not recognise them.”

“From the arrest,” Kisuke explains hoarsely. He seems to have calmed down significantly, which is good, but his tone is slipping into the blank emotionless state he used to adopt when they first met. Ichigo will have to keep an eye on him once they get out of this.

“Hirako-taichō.” The faintest frown creases her forehead. “There is a tinge of Hollow in his reiatsu.”

“Yes, a result of the Hollowfication experiment,” Kisuke answers with no inflection.

Ichigo can hear some of the Central 46 members rustle restlessly, but none of them shout any more accusations at Kisuke.

“Tsukabishi-daikidōchō, a flare of reiatsu on the level of a bankai.”

“Yes,” Tessai responds from his place beside Kisuke. “Temporal Stasis and Spatial Displacement.”

“So you admit to the usage of forbidden kidō!” one of the Central 46 members shouts.

Tessai inclines his head, just as impassive as ever. “Yes. There was no other way of transporting all eight afflicted shinigami to a place where they have a chance of being saved.”

Ichigo clicks the button before they can be interrupted again.

“Shiba-taichō, mid-level kidō –” Unohana pauses, so minutely that if the chamber hasn’t been completely silent, they would not have noticed it. “– and Aizen-fukutaichō, bakudō #81: Dankū.”

The chamber absolutely _explodes_ with noise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cutting into a few more chapters so that the chapters aren't imbalanced (like, one at 1.5k the next at twice its length).

**Author's Note:**

> [cywscross's UraIchi Discord server](https://discordapp.com/invite/ADFnKTZ#_=_) | [Starrie's fic sneak preview server](https://discord.gg/8yJVmbD) | [Starrie's Tumblr](http://starriewolf.tumblr.com)


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